A family sharing a meal of typical Middle Eastern cuisine
- MK
- Jul 4
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 20
Staple Ingredients in Middle Eastern Cooking
Many staples of Middle Eastern cooking are simple: chickpeas, sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon, wheat, rice, dates and nuts, just to name a few. These unassuming ingredients combine to create some of the world’s most delicious dishes (but more on that below). For now, let’s take a closer look at the basic elements of Middle Eastern cuisine.
First up: spices. Middle Eastern food isn’t usually super spicy (as in hot), but it is heavily seasoned. Staple spice mixtures include baharat, made from a variable blend of cumin, pepper, paprika, cloves, cinnamon and more, and za’atar, which usually includes thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. You’ll also find coriander, cardamom, caraway, anise and many other spices.
Middle Eastern recipes often rely heavily on olive oil and fresh produce. Aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, squash and beets add colour to lots of traditional dishes, and dried fruits are common in both sweet and savoury recipes. Many healthy Middle Eastern foods also include plant-based proteins like chickpeas, lentils and fava beans.
Saudi Arabian cuisine
Kabsa: Arabic chicken rice, known as the "national dish of Saudi Arabia", is a mixture of chicken, vegetables and rice. Lamb, yogurt, rice or potatoes are often used in traditional Saudi dishes.
Matazeez: A traditional Saudi dish, usually made with lamb and vegetables seasoned with spices.
Madfoon: Meat and rice are cooked in an underground fire pit, and the cooking method varies from place to place.
Qursan: A thin flatbread made of wheat flour and noodles, dipped in broth and eaten with lamb or vegetables.
The most common meat in the Middle East is probably lamb, though you’ll also find mutton and chicken (pork is less common for religious reasons). Many main dishes are served with rice, bulgur, freekeh (made from durum wheat) or flatbreads like pita, saj or lavash. As for dessert, common ingredients include dates, honey, nuts, seeds, rose water and orange blossom water.
Traditional Middle Eastern Dishes
Traditional Middle Eastern cuisine is an incredibly broad category, containing enough mouthwatering dishes to fill shelves upon shelves of cookbooks. Each Middle Eastern country has its own culinary traditions and classic recipes, but there are some specialties that form a common thread throughout the region – albeit with local variations and twists.
One such dish is falafel, which can be made with chickpeas or fava beans (or both) depending on the country. It’s often served with tahini, a creamy sauce made from sesame seeds, and hummus, which includes chickpeas, tahini, lemon and spices. All three may be served as part of meze (or mezze), an array of different dishes in small portions (sort of like Spanish tapas).
Other common meze options are cheese, olives, baba ghanoush (roasted aubergine dip), kibbeh (ground meat and bulgur, usually formed into small fritters), dolma (stuffed grape leaves) and salads like tabbouleh (with bulgur, tomatoes, mint and parsley) or fattoush (with crunchy vegetables and pieces of fried pita bread).
When it comes to Middle Eastern drinks, the first thing that springs to mind is coffee – Turkish coffee, to be exact. Although Turkey itself is only sometimes considered part of the Middle East, its eponymous style of coffee is popular throughout the region. It’s made by boiling coffee directly in water without straining out the grounds, creating a super strong and thick drink.
The aroma of Arabic coffee, also known as "Qahwa" or "Gahwa". To make the coffee, the beans are carefully selected, roasted and poured onto mats of rushes to cool. They are then ground into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle and added to an Arabic coffee pot, called a "Dallah". Cardamom, cumin, cloves and saffron are often added to flavour the pot, depending on family preference. Coffee is served from the Arabic coffee pot in small, handleless cups and is often served with dates, a traditional Saudi hospitality tradition.
Falafel
Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spices before frying.
Falafel is often served in a flatbread such as pita, samoon, laffa, or taboon; “falafel” also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. The falafel balls may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables, and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze tray.
Falafel is a popular street food eaten throughout the Middle East. In Egypt, it is most often made with fava beans, while in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, it is typically made with chickpeas or sometimes a blend of both.
「Kebab」and「Shawalma」
Meat plays a leading role in many of the most common Middle Eastern main dishes. There’s shawarma (thinly sliced, spit-roasted meat of various types), shish kebabs (grilled meat skewers), mansaf (lamb with fermented yoghurt), makloubeh (upside-down rice with vegetables and meat) and kofta (minced meat shaped into small spheres or cylinders).
There are also plenty of traditional Middle Eastern dishes that are vegetarian by nature. Try manakish (thin flatbreads topped with cheese or za’atar), Lebanese moussaka (stewed aubergine, chickpeas, tomatoes and onions) and mujadara (rice, lentils and fried onions). And when in doubt, the average meze spread usually has plenty of plant-based options.
Khubz
It is an unleavened flatbread, a staple bread in the Middle East, and archaeologists have discovered the oldest known bread in the Syrian Desert (in present-day southern Syria and northern Jordan), dating back 14,000 years. It is an unleavened flatbread made from several wild grains.
Masgouf
Mesopotamian dish consisting of seasoned, grilled carp; it is often considered the national dish of Iraq.
Masgouf does not refer to the name of the fish, but the technique of smoking and grilling the fish over flames. Traditional masguf is made with freshwater fish caught from the Tigris River in Baghdad. The fish is cut in half along the spine, flattened and pierced around flames for grilling, which is a very demanding technique. Usually starting at three kilograms, it is served on the table with a stunning momentum. The fish skin is crispy and charred over direct flames, and the fish meat is juicy and tender. It is indeed a delicacy that you have never tasted before.
The world cannot overlook Iraq as a home to ancient recipes still being used today to bring people together. At the top of the list of Iraq’s finest meals is masgouf, a Mesopotamian meal consisting of grilled carp. Originating in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, masgouf has been around since Babylonian times. Today masgouf can be seen all over Iraq in fish markets and restaurants along the basin.
Ask any Iraqi about Masgouf and you will see a twinkle in his eyes as he proudly explains what the dish is about and what makes it different. Such classy and old school recipes deserve not only honourable mention but more exposure among people who have no idea what Masgouf is!
Masgouf’s popularity has made it the national dish of Iraq, and it is often served to foreign delegations because of its lasting impression. The flavorful and aromatic dish can be found in the streets of Iraq, where the fish is often caught that day and kept alive until ordered. Iraqis living in the diasporas, such as in America and other parts of the Arab world, have continued to cook carp over a fire in their storefronts and homes.
People love the crispy texture of the fish, which is created by cooking it on a stick or a fire, or on a bar-b-que/grill. Then, the fish is garnished with lemons, creating an irresistible flavor out of simple ingredients. Variations of the dish include spices, such as turmeric and tamarind.
